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Greetings from Washington DC

CharlieB

By CharlieB
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CharlieB

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Hello, everyone. I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to join up. I've admired the orderly and polite way in which discussions take place on this board, and I'm very impressed by the expertise of the members.

 

I'm pretty much a newbie to fountain pen collecting. I made several false starts in the past, but two years ago I got serious about using and collecting fountain pens.

 

I was one of the last generations of elementary school students to use the infamous Sheaffer school pens before they were overcome by the ballpoint revolution. I still remember the red plastic barrell, the chrome cap, and the Washable Blue cartridges. Once I moved to junior high, I retired that pen!

 

In 1990, or thereabouts, I became intrigued by the Montblanc pens that I was seeing in my workplace, and I decided that I needed to buy myself a fountain pen. I didn't want to get a Montblanc, because the people who carried them treated them like "prestige" jewelry -- sort of like Rolex watches. I went to Fahrney's in DC (at their old location!) and was served by a wonderful little lady who must have been in her 80s. She talked me into buying a Parker 75 which served me well for the next 3-4 years. I used Quink Black ink exclusively. When the pen started to seep ink, I retired it and switched back to ballpoints.

 

In 2001, I went downtown to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on a hot July day with a friend. On our way back to the subway, we ducked into Fahrney's (the new location!) to escape the heat. She bought herself a Pelikan M400 and talked me into buying a fountain pen, too. I told the saleslady that I wanted a pen with some heft to it, so she showed me a copper Waterman Expert 2000. She also recommended that I buy Aurora Black ink, since it would be much blacker than the Waterman Black that I was about to buy.

 

Alas, the Waterman sat mostly unused except to write a few thank you notes, and I continued to rely upon ballpoints.

 

In December 2003, I went to New York City with my then-girlfriend to see the Christmas Show at the Radio City Music Hall (Santa and the Rockettes!). We got to Rockefeller Center early, so to kill time, we went into Saks Fifth Avenue. While she looked at clothes, I wandered over to a small fountain pen counter and admired the pens. When she came to get me, she asked if I liked fountain pens, and I told her that I did. To my surprise, my Christmas present the following week was a Pelikan M805! A few months later, she gave me a Parker Sonnet, and then, for Christmas 2004, an Ancora Perla (Levenger edition), along with a nice display case.

 

The relationship ended, but I was now hooked on fountain pens. I went on the web and discovered Pentrace, Fountain Pen Network, Fountain Pen Hospital, Joons, World Lux, Oscar Braun, Swisher Pens, and a host of other resources. On Inauguration Day in Jan 2005, I was off work and stopped in Paradise Pens at Pentagon City, and the saleslady talked me into dropping big bucks for a Dupont Orpheo -- and it quickly became my favorite pen. That proved to be the first of many pen purchases over the last two years.

 

Oh... about me.... I'm a native of the DC area, living most of my life in the Virginia suburbs, and moving to the city (Upper Northwest) in 1999 when my marriage fell apart. I worked as a civilian budget analyst in the Department of Defense for many years, and I was in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In 2004 I left DoD and moved over to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is part of the Department of Commerce. At NOAA, I serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Satellite Service.

 

I'm happy to be here, and I look forward to meeting many of you.

Edited by CharlieB

CharlieB

 

"The moment he opened the refrigerator, he saw it. Caponata! Fragrant, colorful, abundant, it filled an entire soup dish, enough for at least four people.... The notes of the triumphal march of Aida came spontaneously, naturally, to his lips." -- Andrea Camilleri, Excursion to Tindari, p. 212

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Nipu Near Mint

Nipu

Posted
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wow, what an intro.. and what an intro to fountain pens..

 

welcome to FPN - i'm pretty new myself, but i have already doubled my pen collection and more than tripled my ink collection (!) since I joined.

 

Look forward to seeing your pens/reviews/inks!

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mike1 Collectors Item

mike1

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Welcome to FPN. What a nice girl friend to give you those wonderful gifts. Sounds like she was enabling your desire for pens. Great folks here.

"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." Satchel Paige, Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher

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sonia_simone Collectors Item

sonia_simone

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Howdy Charlie, and welcome!

Isn't sanity really a one-trick pony, anyway? I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking! But when you're good and crazy . . . ooh hoo hoo hoo! . . . the sky's the limit!

--The Tick

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Nihontochicken Vintage

Nihontochicken

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The relationship ended, but I was now hooked on fountain pens.

 

Wow, gave up the girl, but kept the pens. I sense genius here. :lol: In any event, welcome to FPN, and please keep us apprised of your ongoing judgements! ;)

Nihonto Chicken

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CharlieB Collectors Item

CharlieB

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Yikes! I see I need to set the record straight. I didn't give up the girl. She gave up me! Happily, we're still friends and still get together for dinner every 3-4 months.

CharlieB

 

"The moment he opened the refrigerator, he saw it. Caponata! Fragrant, colorful, abundant, it filled an entire soup dish, enough for at least four people.... The notes of the triumphal march of Aida came spontaneously, naturally, to his lips." -- Andrea Camilleri, Excursion to Tindari, p. 212

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Wolverine1 Antique

Wolverine1

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Hey Charlie - welcome to FPN. You will find a lot of current and ex-Pentrace folks here. All I need now, is to to meet a girlfriend who is as fond of fountain pens as I am, and better still, if I can find someone like your friend who buys me nice pens as gifts!!!! :)

-Sid

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Ruaidhri Antique

Ruaidhri

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Hi Charlie,

 

You'll be pleased to know we are working on a cure.

 

Meantime - enjoy :D

 

Regards,

Ruaidhrí

Administrator and Proprietor of Murphy Towers

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sonia_simone Collectors Item

sonia_simone

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Charlie, thanks for the clarification, one would not wish to think of you as lacking in gallantry. ;)

Isn't sanity really a one-trick pony, anyway? I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking! But when you're good and crazy . . . ooh hoo hoo hoo! . . . the sky's the limit!

--The Tick

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CharlieB Collectors Item

CharlieB

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Oh my..... Did I just join a board that includes the infamous Winedoc.... and then have the chutzpah to post a signature that includes a quotation about wine???? I need to have my head examined!

 

Seriously, the two best part of any pen show are (1) browsing Kevin's Danitrio pens in the daylight hours, and (2) sipping Kevin's wines after the sun goes down. Life doesn't get any better!

 

If only Kevin would sponsor the development of a true wine-colored ink for fountain pens......

Edited by CharlieB

CharlieB

 

"The moment he opened the refrigerator, he saw it. Caponata! Fragrant, colorful, abundant, it filled an entire soup dish, enough for at least four people.... The notes of the triumphal march of Aida came spontaneously, naturally, to his lips." -- Andrea Camilleri, Excursion to Tindari, p. 212

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CharlieB Collectors Item

CharlieB

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Sonia,

You're accusing me of "gallantry"??? Wow.... you made my day!

CharlieB

 

"The moment he opened the refrigerator, he saw it. Caponata! Fragrant, colorful, abundant, it filled an entire soup dish, enough for at least four people.... The notes of the triumphal march of Aida came spontaneously, naturally, to his lips." -- Andrea Camilleri, Excursion to Tindari, p. 212

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winedoc Collectors Item

winedoc

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Ok Charlie, fess up...I was at Kevin's party too....who are you? :)

I can tell you he is not the guy with corks in his ears... no joke, not sure if you still there, but Carlos was a bit... errhh shall we say... buzzed and was putting wine corks in his ears. Charlie was still there, so can vouch for this. It was great fun... let's do it again next year!

 

Kev

To Cross The Rubicon

 

Internet Pens

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wdyasq Vintage

wdyasq

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Sonia,

You're accusing me of "gallantry"???  Wow.... you made my day!

Note is is an accusation, not a conviction. We should probably wait for the courts to decide that. And, 'moral judgement' is an oxymoron in Washington DC.

 

ROn

"Adventure is just bad planning." -- Roald Amundsen

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